Wire cover and mounting bracket

ABSTRACT

A photovoltaic panel wire cover assembly, used with a PV panel having a perimeter trim piece, includes clips, an elongate wire cover and fastener structure. Each clip includes a proximal end and long and short legs, the long leg parallel with and joined to the short leg at the clip proximal end. A gap between the long and short legs is sized for receipt of the trim piece. The wire cover includes a wire-covering housing defining a housing interior and having first and second opposite sides and a first flange extending from the first opposite side and positioned against the long leg. The fastener structure engages the short leg and the first flange to bias the first flange and the long leg therewith towards the short leg. The wire cover can be fastened to the trim piece through the clips without penetrating the PV panel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 62/322,363, filed 14 Apr. 2016 and entitled Wire Coverand Mounting Bracket, and U.S. provisional patent application No.62/404,653, filed 5 Oct. 2016, entitled Clip for Solar Panels andSimilar Things, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference.

REFERENCE TO APPENDIX

Attached as part of this application is an Appendix to theSpecification, which includes digital images/photograph/line drawings,identified as sheets A through T, of the technology disclosed herein.Upon allowance of this application and payment of the Issue Fee, thisAppendix may be deleted.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are typically provided of rigid planarform with each panel having a similar size, typically rectangular andapproximately two to three feet in a shorter dimension and four to sixfeet in a longer dimension. Solar cells are provided upon a frontsurface of the solar panel. These individual cells are electricallyconnected together. A junction box is provided on a rear surface of eachpanel which gathers up the electric power generated by the cells on thepanel and passes this electric power onto wires. These wires from thejunction box can facilitate wiring together of multiple panels of anarray to produce the overall power generated by the array of panels.

Solar panels are required to be deployed in an outside environmentexposed to solar radiation, where the panels are also exposed toextremes of temperature and moisture. Furthermore, birds and otheranimals typically have access to the panels and the wiring connectingthe panels together. One of the significant benefits of solar powersystems of the PV panel variety is that they have no moving parts whichmust require maintenance or periodic inspection/replacement, as is thecase with other distributed power assets such as wind turbines. However,the outside exposure experienced by the panel and its associated wirescan result in damage occurring to the panels even without the panelsexperiencing any motion. Some solar panel arrays are mounted in amovable fashion to “track” the sun. Such tracking systems can be keptquite simple and easy to maintain, so that the panels do not requiresignificant maintenance or inspection for reliable operation.

Perhaps the greatest source of PV panel array failure is presented inassociation with the wires that connect the individual panels together.The wires have connectors where they are joined to other segments ofwire or to the junction boxes of various panels. If the wires becomedamaged, the system of PV panels can fail. The wires also benefit fromminimizing expense through only providing an amount of exteriorinsulation necessary and to otherwise structure the wire with arelatively light and low cost configuration, including diameter,conductive material, insulating material, insulating material thickness,etc. Furthermore, the wires themselves can be extensive in length andrepresent a significant value for the overall panel system. It is knownin certain instances for thieves to steal wire, such as the wire joiningPV panels together, to recycle the wire for its inherent value in theconductive metals contained therein, or to repurpose the wire in otherways.

SUMMARY

A simplified summary is provided herein to help enable a basic orgeneral understanding of various aspects of exemplary, non-limitingimplementations that follow in the more detailed description and theaccompanying drawings. This summary is not intended, however, as anextensive or exhaustive overview. Instead, the sole purpose of thissummary is to present some concepts related to some exemplarynon-limiting implementations in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description of the various implementations that follow.

A photovoltaic panel wire cover assembly is used with a PV panel havinga perimeter trim piece, the perimeter trim piece having a thickness. Theassembly includes a plurality of clips, an elongate wire cover andfastener structure. Each clip includes a proximal end, a long leg and ashort leg, the long leg parallel with and joined to the short leg at theproximal end of the clip, the long leg having a distal end. There is agap between the long leg and the short leg of the clip sized for receiptof the perimeter trim piece of the PV panel. The elongate wire coverincludes a wire-covering housing, the wire-covering housing having firstand second opposite sides and a first flange extending away from thefirst opposite side. The wire-covering housing defines a housinginterior. The first flange is positioned against the long leg of theclip. The fastener structure engages the short leg of the clip and thefirst flange to bias the first flange and the long leg of the cliptherewith towards the short leg of the clip. The wire cover can befastened to the perimeter trim piece of the PV panel through the clipswithout penetrating the PV panel.

Examples of the photovoltaic panel wire cover assembly can include oneor more the following. The short leg can have holes adjacent to theproximal end aligned with each other and passing through the short legand the long leg; the first flange can include a plurality of slottedholes therein; and the fastener structure can include a fastener passingthrough the slotted holes in the wire covers and into the holes in theclip. The clip can include a trim engagement element, such as a curveddistal end, at the distal end of the long leg. The hole in the long legcan be a through hole through which a fastener can freely pass and thehole in the short leg can be configured, such as with threads, to engagethe fastener. The wire cover can have a second flange extending awayfrom the second opposite side, the second flange including a pluralityof second slotted holes and positioned against the long leg of a secondclip, the second clip engaging a second perimeter trim piece. Furtherfastener structure can engage the short leg of the second clip and thesecond flange to bias the second flange and the long leg of the secondclip therewith towards the short leg of the second flange. In this waythe wire cover can be fastened to the second perimeter trim piece of thePV panel through clips without penetrating the PV panel. The elongatewire cover can have an open end, and the assembly can include a closedend cap mountable to the open end of the elongate wire cover to preventaccess to the housing interior. The assembly can also include an openend cap, having a wire passage opening, mountable to an open end of theelongate wire cover, and a jumper tube extending from the open end capto provide a wire passageway from the wire passage opening through thejumper tube, whereby the open end cap and jumper tube extendingtherefrom prevents access to the housing interior other than through thewire passageway.

Other features, aspects and advantages of technology disclosed can beseen on review the drawings, the detailed description, and the claims,which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The included drawings are for illustrative purposes and serve only toprovide examples of possible structures and process operations for oneor more implementations of this disclosure. These drawings in no waylimit any changes in form and detail that may be made by one skilled inthe art without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.A more complete understanding of the subject matter may be derived byreferring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconjunction with the following figures, wherein like reference numbersrefer to similar elements throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a conventional array of PV panelsmounted to a common tracking bar.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of an array of PV panel wire coverassembly used with an array of PV panels mount to a common tracking bar.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 during the installation ofwire covers to the array of PV panels, showing wires covered by a wirecover and wires to be covered by a subsequently installed wire cover.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 3showing clips engaging trim pieces at opposed edges of adjacent PVpanels.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view a portion of the structure ofFIG. 2 showing an end of one wire cover overlapping the end of anadjacent wire cover.

FIG. 6 shows an end cap covering the outermost end of the wire cover atthe end of the array of photovoltaic panels.

FIG. 7 shows a jumper tube extending between open end caps to protectwires passing between space-apart PV panels.

FIG. 8 is a top, front, right side isometric view of a wire cover.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the wire cover of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is an end view of the wire cover of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a left side view of the wire cover of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is a top, front, right side view of a clip partially shown inFIG. 4 together with a fastener.

FIG. 13 is a bottom, front, right side view of the clip of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a front, top, right side view of the closed end cap shown inFIG. 6.

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the end cap of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a rear elevation view of the end cap of FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a front, top, right side view of the open end cap shown inFIG. 7.

FIG. 18 is a top plan view of the end cap of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a rear elevation view of the end cap of FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a simplified edge view showing a clip mounted to a trim pieceof the solar panel with a flange of the wire cover about to be securedto the clip by a fastener.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To protect the wires and to hide them from view, it is desirable toprovide a cover for the runs of wire which join PV panels together. Suchcovers would both protect the wires and make the wires less enticing tothieves, and present some degree of impediment to thieves interested instealing the wires. While a basic cover could be provided over runs ofwire joining panels together including a cover element and with a flangehaving a hole therein which can receive a fastener, a significantproblem is encountered in that the flange of such a basic cover requiresa hole in the panel through which a fastener can pass for connecting thecover to a panel. PV panels are typically substantially free of fastenerholes thereon, other than fastener holes which are already dedicated toother purposes, including panel mounting purposes. Without a holeavailable for securing such a cover to the panel, one is left with theundesirable prospect of perhaps drilling an additional hole in the panel(which may void its warranty), which not only has significant propensityto damage the panel, it involves significant additional work.Accordingly, a need exists for a system for a wire-covering system foran array of photovoltaic panel which does not require drilling of holesinto the panels, but can still allow for a wire cover to be mounted tothe panels in a simple manner.

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a conventional array 22 of PVpanels 14 mounted to a common tracking bar 24. A junction box 26 is seenmounted along an edge of each PV panel 14 with exposed wires 12extending from the junction boxes.

With this technology, a PV panel wire cover assembly 8, see FIG. 2,includes a wire cover 10, also referred to as cover 10, for coveringwires 12 which join photovoltaic (PV) panels 14 together so that theycannot be seen and to help protect the wires from the weather,vandalism, theft and animals. PV panels 14 are also referred to aspanels 14 or solar panels 14. Assembly 8 also includes a clip 16 whichcan be easily attached to a panel 14 without requiring drilling of holesthereinto, and which clip 16 presents a hole 18 to which a fastener 20,such as a screw or bolt, can join after having interfaced with a wirecover 10, so that between the wire cover 10 and a series of such clips16, the wire cover 10 can be coupled to the panels in a manner overlyingthe wires thereof.

FIG. 3 shows a wire cover 10 during installation with wires 12 extendingfrom the open end of a wire cover 10 prior to installation of the nextwire cover 10. FIGS. 8-11 illustrate how the wire cover 10 has a pair offlanges 28, 30 and a wire-covering housing 32 defining a housinginterior 34 between the flanges. Wire-covering housing 32 is sized, inparticular to have sufficient depth 36, to accommodate the wires 12bundled therein. The flanges 28, 30 include slots. These slots arepreferably of a variety which is elongate in form with rounded ends andwith a length thereof parallel with a length of the wire-coveringhousing 32 of the wire cover 10. Such slots are provided on each flange28, 30 directly adjacent to this wire-covering housing 32. Because thepanel-to-panel spacing 46 between solar panels 14 in array 22 can varyslightly, slots 38, 40 are provided rather than a single hole, toaccommodate some variation in panel-to-panel spacing. Longer flange 28includes a notch 42 at each end. Notch 42 is useful in placing cover 10under the edge of the PV panel frame thus reducing the need for clipsand speeding up installation. However, for some types of equipment notch42 can be omitted to create a notch less wire cover 10 indicated by thedashed lines 44 in FIG. 8.

Details of the clips 16 are shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, as well as FIG. 4Each clip 16 can be a bent piece of spring steel (or optionally othermaterial) which fits over a piece of trim 48 along the lateral sides 50of the PV panels 14; see FIGS. 2-5. Trim 48 extends generallyperpendicular to the side-to-side orientation of wires 12 and wirecovers 10. Trim 48 is offset a distance slightly from a rear surface 54of the panel with a width a distance sufficient to allow a short leg 58of the clip 16 to reside therein. The clip 16 has a long leg 60 oppositethe short leg 58 with the two legs substantially parallel to each otherand joined together at a proximal end 62 of the clip. The long leg 60ends at a trim engagement element 64, also called a tooth 64, at adistal end 66 thereof which can wrap around and grip somewhat an outeredge 68 of the trim 48. The proximal ends of each leg of the clip 16 arejoined together so that the clip 16 is, in this example, a continuouspiece of metal. A spacing or gap 69 between the legs 58, 60 of the clip16 is preferably similar to a thickness of the trim 48 on the panel 14,so that somewhat of a friction fit is provided when the clip 16 is slidover the trim 48 with the trim 48 between the legs 58, 60.

FIG. 20 is a simplified edge view showing a clip 16 mounted to a trimpiece 48 of the solar panel 14 with a flange 28, 30 of the wire cover 10about to be secured to the clip by a fastener 20. An overall width ofthe clip 16 between the distal tooth 64 at the tip of the long leg 60and a curve at the proximal end 62 where the long leg 60 and short leg58 are joined together, see dimension 70 in FIG. 13, is greater than thewidth 56 of the trim 48 by an amount sufficient so that hole 18, whichin this example includes a top through-hole 72 and a bottom threadedhole 74, passing through the clip 16 can be positioned off of the trim48. See FIGS. 13 and 20. These holes 72, 74 pass through both the longleg 60 and the short leg 58 of the clip 16 with the holes adjacent tothe curving proximal end 62 of the clip 16 which joins the long leg 60and the short leg 58 together. The holes preferably are similar in sizeand aligned together, but, in this example, with the hole 74 in theshort leg 58 being threaded and the hole 72 in the long leg 60 being athrough hole and not threaded. It is also conceivable that both of theholes could be threaded or neither of the holes could be threaded andstill function according to this technology if, for example, usingnon-threaded fasteners or if a threaded fastener pair such as a bolt andnut are used together. Most preferably, however, the short leg 58 hasits hole 74 threaded and the long leg 60 does not have its hole 72threaded.

In one embodiment, if the trim 48 has a one inch width 56, the long leg60 could have a two inch length and the short leg 58 could have a oneand a half inch length. In such a configuration a quarter inch holecould be provided which is spaced approximately a quarter inch to a halfinch away from the curving proximal end 62 of the clip 16 where the longleg 60 and short leg 58 come together. The clip 16 could have variousdifferent widths 76; clip 16 is shown with approximately a three-quarterinch width in the embodiment depicted.

If the clip 16 is formed of materials other than spring steel (e.g.,aluminum or plastic) it still preferably functions to clamp and hold tothe trim 48. The clip 16 will then have a tendency to stay whereinitially placed. Furthermore, once a fastener 20 passes through thenon-threaded hole 72 in the long leg 60 and then threads into thethreads in the threaded hole 74 in the short leg 58, the long leg 60 andshort leg 58 are drawn together and further pinch the clip 16 tightlyagainst the trim 48. The clip 16 thus conveniently tends to stay wherepositioned before use, but can be repositioned fairly easily before ithas been used, such as by sliding along the trim 48 with the tooth 64 atthe distal end 66 of the long leg 60 keeping the clip 16 aligned whereit is desired to be.

Once the clips 16 are positioned where desired, a wire cover 10 would beplaced over wires 12 joining panels 14 together and with the elongatehole or slots 38, 40 in one of the flanges 28, 30 overlying the clip 16and aligned with the holes in the clip 16. A fastener 20, such as abolt, would then be passed through the elongate hole 38, 40 in theflange 28, 30 and then passed through the non-threaded hole 72 in theouter, long leg 60 of the clip 16, and then threaded into the threadedhole 74 in the short leg 58 of the clip 16. See FIG. 20. Once thefastener 20 has been tightened, not only has the clip 16 been secured inposition against the trim 48 of the panel, but also the wire cover 10has been secured to the panel as well. This process is repeated withadditional clips 16 at corresponding locations on other portions of thewire covers 10 to securely cause the wire covers 10 to be mounted tooverlie wires 12 joining the panels 14 together.

FIG. 6 shows a closed end cap 82 covering the outermost end of the wirecover 10 at the end of the array 22 of photovoltaic panels 14. Detailsof end cap 82 are shown in FIGS. 14-16. FIGS. 7 and 17-19 illustrate anopen end cap 84 secured to the outermost end of a wire cover 10. Openend caps 84 are used when there is a gap between PV panels 14, such aswhen there is a motor or other obstruction in the way on tracked arraysof PV panels. Open end cap 84 defines a wire passage opening 90 and hasa curved extension 86 over which a jumper tube 88, see FIG. 7, ismounted. Wires 12 pass between the spaced-apart PV panels 14 along awire passageway through wire passage opening 90, through curvedextension 86 and through jumper tube 88. Use of closed end caps 82 andopen end caps 84, together with jumper tube 88, helped to protect wires12 from the elements, degradation or destruction by animals, and alsohelps to keep animals from entering housing interior 34. Jumper tube 88can be made with somewhat flexible material, such as PVC or ABS, with aslit along its length to permit it to be placed over curved extensions86 and the wires 12 extending between space-apart open end caps 84 asshown in FIG. 7. The length of jumper tube 88 is made to be slightlyshorter than the distance between open end caps 84 so that it maintainscontact with the curved extensions 86 of the open end caps.

If desired for further theft prevention, fasteners 20 having uniquetorque receiving surfaces can be used so that it is less likely that athief has access to a proper tool for removal of such fasteners. Thefasteners could be provided of a type which can allow for readyinstallation but does not allow for ready disassembly. For instance,rivets could be used instead of threaded fasteners or threaded fastenerswith heads which allow for torque to be applied for fastening but not tobe applied for removal. As a still further option, the fasteners couldhave heads which snap off after the fastener has been used, so that thetorque applying head is removed and unavailable for theft access afterinstallation.

Typically, wire covers 10 are provided which are of standard lengthswhich allow for convenient handling thereof, such as six foot lengths orten foot lengths. The wire covers 10 can overlap each other somewhat atends thereof to allow for continuous covering of the wires 12. Each wirecover 10 would typically have a length which spans two or more panels14. The positions of the slotted holes 38, 40 are preferably selected togenerally match widths 78 of the panels 14 but with the slotted holessufficiently long to accommodate variations in panel size as well asspacing 46 between adjacent panels 14.

Covers 10 can be made of bent metal, such as galvanized sheet steel orof sheet aluminum. Covers 10 can also be made of polymer materials, suchas PVC, typically through extrusion or molding techniques. While clips16 are preferably made of materials such as spring steel to aid properpositioning; in some examples clips 16 may be made materials, such aslayered materials, which may or may not exhibit the degree of resilienceprovided by spring steel. The covers 10 and clips 16 could alternativelybe made of non-metal materials or metals of other varieties to optimizedesired performance characteristics or to minimize expense or otherwiseprovide for benefits associated with particular materials selected.

This disclosure is provided to reveal a preferred embodiment of thetechnology and a best mode for practicing the technology. Having thusdescribed the technology in this way, it should be apparent that variousdifferent modifications can be made to the preferred embodiment withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. When structuresare identified as a means to perform a function, the identification isintended to include all structures which can perform the functionspecified. One or more elements of one or more claims can be combinedwith elements of other claims. Any and all patents, patent applicationsand printed publications referred to above are incorporated byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A PV panel wire cover assembly for use with a PVpanel having upper and lower surfaces and first and second sides, thefirst and second sides oriented perpendicular to one another, the PVpanel also having a perimeter trim piece, the perimeter trim pieceextending along the first side opposite the lower surface and spacedapart from the lower surface to define a gap therebetween, the assemblycomprising: a clip including a proximal end, a long leg and a short leg,the long leg joined to the short leg at a curved region at the proximalend of the clip, the long leg and the short leg each having a distalend, wherein the short leg is parallel to the long leg from the distalend of the short leg to the curved region; the clip mountable to thetrim piece with the short leg between the trim piece and the lowersurface of the PV panel, and the long leg adjacent to and underlying thetrim piece; an elongate wire cover including a wire-covering housing anda first flange, the wire-covering housing having first and secondopposite sides, the first flange extending along the first opposite sideand laterally away from the first side of the wire-covering housing, thewire-covering housing defining a housing interior; the elongate wirecover positionable to extend along the second side of the PV panel withthe first flange positionable against the long leg to underlie and atleast substantially cover the long leg, such that the first flange ofthe elongate wire cover is positioned against the long leg of the clipwithout being positioned against the short leg of the clip; and fastenerstructure engageable with the short leg and the long leg to bias theshort leg and the long leg towards the first flange, whereby the wirecover can be fastened to the perimeter trim piece of the PV panelthrough the clip without penetrating the PV panel.
 2. The assemblyaccording to claim 1, further comprising: holes adjacent to saidproximal end aligned with each other and passing through said short legand said long leg; said first flange including a plurality of slottedholes therein; and the fastener structure comprising a fastener passingthrough said slotted holes in said wire cover and into said holes insaid clip.
 3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein the clipcomprises a trim engagement element at the distal end of said long leg.4. The assembly according to claim 3, wherein the distal end of the longleg is a curved distal end constituting the trim engagement element. 5.The assembly according to claim 2, wherein the hole in the long leg is athrough hole through which a fastener can freely pass and the hole inthe short leg is configured to engage the fastener.
 6. The assemblyaccording to claim 5, wherein the fastener is a threaded fastener andthe hole in the short leg is a threaded hole for threaded engagementwith the threaded fastener.
 7. The assembly according to claim 6,wherein the long and short legs can be drawn towards one another by theengagement of the threaded hole in the short leg by the fastener.
 8. Theassembly according to claim 1, wherein the elongate wire cover has anopen end, and further comprising: a closed end cap mountable to the openend of the elongate wire cover to prevent access to the housinginterior.
 9. A PV panel wire cover assembly for use with a PV panelhaving a perimeter trim piece, the perimeter trim piece having athickness, comprising: a plurality of clips, each clip including aproximal end, a long leg and a short leg, for each clip the long leg isparallel with and joined to the short leg at the proximal end, the longleg of each clip having a distal end; a gap between said long leg andsaid short leg of each clip sized for receipt of a perimeter trim pieceof a PV panel; an elongate wire cover including a wire-covering housingand a first flange, the wire-covering housing having first and secondopposite sides, the first flange extending away from the first oppositeside, the wire-covering housing defining a housing interior; the firstflange positioned against the long leg of at least one of the clips;fastener structure engaging the short leg of the at least one of theclips and the first flange to bias the first flange and the long leg ofthe at least one of the clips therewith towards the short leg of the atleast one of the clips; the elongate wire cover having an open end; anopen end cap mountable to the open end of the elongate wire cover; theopen end cap having a wire passage opening; and a jumper tube extendingfrom the open end cap to provide a wire passageway from the wire passageopening through the jumper tube, whereby the open end cap and jumpertube extending therefrom prevents access to the housing interior at theopen end other than through the wire passageway, whereby said wire covercan be fastened to the perimeter trim piece of the PV panel through saidclips without penetrating the PV panel.
 10. A PV panel systemcomprising: a PV panel comprising: upper and lower surfaces and firstand second sides, the first and second sides oriented perpendicular toone another; a perimeter trim piece, the perimeter trim piece extendingalong the first side opposite the lower surface and spaced apart fromthe lower surface to define a gap therebetween; and wires along thelower surface; and a PV panel wire cover assembly comprising: a clipcomprising a proximal end, a long leg and a short leg, the long legjoined to the short leg at a curved region at the proximal end of theclip, the long leg and the short leg each having a distal end, whereinthe short leg is parallel to the long leg from the distal end of theshort leg to the curved region; the clip mounted to the trim piece withthe short leg between the trim piece and the lower surface of the PVpanel, and the long leg adjacent to and underlying the trim piece; anelongate wire cover including a wire-covering housing and a firstflange, the wire-covering housing having first and second oppositesides, the first flange extending along the first opposite side andlaterally away from the first side of the wire-covering housing, theelongate wire cover positioned to extend along the second side of the PVpanel with the first flange positioned against the long leg to underlieand at least substantially cover the long leg, such that the firstflange of the elongate wire cover is positioned against the long leg ofthe clip without being positioned against the short leg of the clip; thewire-covering housing defining a housing interior within which the wiresare contained; and fastener structure engaging the short leg and thelong leg to bias the short leg and the long leg towards the first flangethus securing the clip to the perimeter trim piece, whereby said wirecover can be fastened to the perimeter trim piece of the PV panelwithout penetrating the PV panel.
 11. A PV panel wire cover assembly foruse with a PV panel having upper and lower surfaces and first and secondsides, the first and second sides oriented perpendicular to one another,the PV panel also having a perimeter trim piece, the perimeter trimpiece extending along the first side opposite the lower surface andspaced apart from the lower surface to define a gap therebetween, theassembly comprising: a clip including a proximal end, a long leg and ashort leg, the long leg parallel with and joined to the short leg at theproximal end of the clip, the long leg having a distal end; the clipmountable to the trim piece with the short leg between the trim pieceand the lower surface of the PV panel, and the long leg adjacent to andunderlying the trim piece; an elongate wire cover including awire-covering housing and a first flange, the wire-covering housinghaving first and second opposite sides, the first flange extending alongthe first opposite side and laterally away from the first side of thewire-covering housing, the wire-covering housing defining a housinginterior; the elongate wire cover positionable to extend along thesecond side with the first flange positionable against the long leg tounderlie and at least substantially cover the long leg; and fastenerstructure engageable with the short leg and the long leg to bias theshort leg and the long leg towards the first flange; the elongate wirecover having an open end; an open end cap mountable to the open end ofthe elongate wire cover; the open end cap having a wire passage opening;and a jumper tube extending from the open end cap to provide a wirepassageway from the wire passage opening through the jumper tube,whereby the open end cap and jumper tube extending therefrom preventsaccess to the housing interior at the open end other than through thewire passageway, whereby said wire cover can be fastened to theperimeter trim piece of the PV panel through said clips withoutpenetrating the PV panel.
 12. A PV panel system comprising: a PV panelcomprising: upper and lower surfaces and first and second sides, thefirst and second sides oriented perpendicular to one another; aperimeter trim piece, the perimeter trim piece extending along the firstside opposite the lower surface and spaced apart from the lower surfaceto define a gap therebetween; and wires along the lower surface; and aPV panel wire cover assembly comprising: a clip comprising a proximalend, a long leg and a short leg, the long leg parallel with and joinedto the short leg at the proximal end of the clip, the long leg having adistal end; the clip mounted to the trim piece with the short legbetween the trim piece and the lower surface of the PV panel, and thelong leg adjacent to and underlying the trim piece; an elongate wirecover including a wire-covering housing and a first flange, thewire-covering housing having first and second opposite sides, the firstflange extending along the first opposite side and laterally away fromthe first side of the wire-covering housing, the elongate wire coverpositioned to extend along the second side of the PV panel with thefirst flange positioned against the long leg to underlie and at leastsubstantially cover the long leg; the wire-covering housing defining ahousing interior within which the wires are contained; fastenerstructure engaging the short leg and the long leg to bias the short legand the long leg towards the first flange thus securing the clip to theperimeter trim piece; the elongate wire cover having an open end; anopen end cap mountable to the open end of the elongate wire cover; theopen end cap having a wire passage opening; and a jumper tube extendingfrom the open end cap to provide a wire passageway from the wire passageopening through the jumper tube, whereby the open end cap and jumpertube extending therefrom prevents access to the housing interior at theopen end other than through the wire passageway, whereby said wire covercan be fastened to the perimeter trim piece of the PV panel through saidclips without penetrating the PV panel.